Harvest Fair

I have been working my butt off, making jewelry for a harvest fair/holiday boutique, which will take place this Saturday.
I have not made anything since last year. I did make some designs at a studio where I was studying under some amazing artists, but nothing I would be willing to sell.
Anyway, I was told to include some lower priced pieces to my current collection as that is what will sell...usually does!

I have created and run several holiday boutiques myself. I really enjoy doing them, especially if they benefit a cause I believe in or a school that my children attend. I don't quite know what happened, but the one I started at my children's school has been discontinued and no one had to decency to tell me. I am currently getting calls from vendors that I must field and tell them that there is no boutique this year. I wish I could explain more, both here in this blog and to my vendors, but I do not wish to have any more problems at my boys' school.

Let me explain, well just a little bit, anyway. I ran this boutique. It grew and grew. People started to come from all over and really looked forward to it. This was not the first of its kind that I have started, but it was the one I was still running. The person in charge of our school never really wanted me to do it in the first place. Why? Don't know. It brings money into our private school. No one does anything in preparation for it but ME, so no sweat off anyone else's nose. It was simply profit. It was good profit for the school. I brought in more money for the school in one day than the book fair does in a week. I also added a bake sale last year. I had a raffle. I even fed the vendors. I took care of everyone. Everyone loved it.
Oh, right, I almost forgot, how they finally took me down.
The Women's Guild Presidents and I talked about adding in some holiday cheer by selling Irish Coffee. After all, the other Catholic schools do it. We had a alcohol permit and everything.
Another person suggested a wine and cheese tasting, or more accurately, she pushed for it. She is friends with another one of our parents who owns several beautiful cheese boutiques and another of my friends got the wine donated.

OK, so now I wrote up all the proposed changed and additions to the boutique as instructed by the presidents, whom I have known for many years. One of them is sort of related to me by marriage...sort of. Both of them went to my high school, but different years. Anyway, just wanted to stress the connections. I handed to one of the ladies right at the bell one afternoon.
She is a busy woman as she has two boys, was WG president that year, a very demanding job, and is a teacher's aid in the first grade classroom. I had always thought of her as one of the nicest women I had ever known. I once told my mother that I may know someone nicer than her! Just kidding of course!
Anyway, two days before the event, the other pres. told me to send the head of the school an itinerary of the day. So, I did, thinking it was be old new. I was in the art room making signs and I started getting calls from the secretary about each block of time. The blocks she was questioning most had to do with alcohol. Okie dokie, then. Why did you have us get an alcohol permit if you didn't know what was going on? But this kept going on and on so I went home and got the original letter from my laptop and typed out a quick note that basically read what must have happened. It was as follows...

Basically I was told to print this out, give it to the WG president and she would give it to you upon her approval. I realize I should not have given it to her at the end of the day, it was bad timing on my part. She has so much on her plate so I understand why you didn't receive it.
However, this is why I thought you knew what we had planned.
No disrespect intended....ever.

Laura

I know now that I should not have said anything about giving it to that lady, but I told her what I told the princiPAL...(not in this case). I just thought that honesty was the only way to go and that is EXACTLY what happened.
Well, she immediately called those two into her office, not me of course, because it is a divide and divide sort of regime over here, and said," What the hell is this?" I think she may have called it bullshit or something like that. Mind you, this woman comes with some power as her father was a well-known politician. She loves power. Fun for us! Yippie. Both women said, they had never seen it before. Thanks biotches! That is just what I needed! That is when all the fun began!
Things went downhill from there for me and the boys at school.
First of all, head of school came in and ranted at the vendors for their parking at the start of the boutique. Nice! Then, instead of supporting it, like she usually does, by purchasing things, she came in and told me off! She decided that the best time to have a conversation about the alcohol, etc. was when I was selling jewelry. What the....
She stood there, in her too tight, too short skirt and snowman sweater, manic with rage telling me off in front of all of my vendors and potential customers. I stood there thinking how surreal this all was.
She was going on and on about how we do not have alcohol at events where there are children.

Whoa, stop right there lady! First of all, this was a grown up event, secondly, we have people getting HEATED at spaghetti bingo right in front of you as well as pancake breakfast . Ah, next week was pancake breakfast, they were planning mimosas, gin fizzes and Santa Clause! So I decided to ask the question....innocently!

"What about pancake breakfast?!

*crickets*

I could now feel her cold, blue eyes boring holes into me. I had to look away. I thought I was a gonner!
Her voice became very low, almost as if possessed and she said, "ASK FATHER"

I said very cheerfully and innocently and not skipping a beat that I really have no interest in alcohol that I was just curious.

Well, I don't really recall how this exchange ended, she flew out of the room and one of my vendors came up to me to make sure I was OK. I really was. Until after the event. This woman was awful to me AND to my children.

She would not acknowledge my children for the rest of the school year nor would she acknowledge me. Well, that is not entirely true. She saw one of my boys' teachers talking to me. We were actually talking about jewelry repair. She had earrings to give me or a pendant or something that required fixing, don't remember. Well, what happened was she was summoned to the office by another teacher. She was questioned about our conversation and promptly instructed NOT to speak to me. Said teacher nearly quit on the spot. As it turns out she ended up quitting months later along with four other teachers....hmmmm.
Anyway, head of school (HOS) said I was bad-mouthing the school and I was not to be trusted or spoken to!

Whaaaa...

I had just recommended out school to a friend who transfered in from another school. What on earth could she be talking about?

This was the craziest thing I had ever heard. Not only had I NOT bad mouthed our school, but I was talking it up!
Our HOS can not go around BAD MOUTHING ME just because I called her on something. I am so sorry I asked about the alcohol, but I really didn't understand, and neither did anyone else. It was everyone's question. I was just the idiot who asked it.

So, I have spent the last year being punished. In addition, one of last years' presidents no longer even looks my way. Whatever!
All this because I tried to make money for our school!
I did this NO HELP from anyone else until the day of the event, mind you.
All planning and preparations were done by me...alone.

It had grown into this thing of beauty. And now it has been quietly banished. Punishment for speaking up? Punishment for something.

So this year I am back to selling at other events and not breaking my butt to put on this event that HOS never wanted in the first place. I think she thinks I was benefitting from it. Truth be told, I lost money as I underpriced my items and I was one of the only people to actually give the full percentage of sales.

Wow, I thought I was going to just talk about the fact that I was making jewelry after a year's break. I had no idea I would tell the story.

So, when I sat down, I thought I had lost my creativity. I was so bummed as I thought I let HER take something from me. But even through a migraine, or should I say, migraine meds, once I got started, I cranked out some things that I am really proud of. In fact, I would like to keep a few, but I know I need to put them in the show.

If hubby gets them photographed, I can try to show a couple.

Did I ever mention that he is a commercial photographer? The pics will not be done in the studio as there is no time, he will do them here at home...sigh. I will leave that rant for another time.